Nikon finally launched its first high-end full frame mirrorless cameras, the Z7 and Z6. Like many other Nikon photographers, I am very excited to get my hands on the cameras and see what the cameras are capable of. Luckily for me, I was given the opportunity to shoot with the Z7 with the FTZ adapter for a few days. Big shoutout to @NikonSg!

As a disclaimer, this is not a product review. This is just me sharing my experience and how I feel about using the Z7 with the FTZ adapter when I am doing my shoot.

First Impression

When I first held the Z7 in my hands, it almost felt exactly like my Nikon D750. There was a sense of familiarity, yet it feels very different at the same time. The grip and the button layout felt familiar. The menu looked exactly the same as the one on my D750. What makes the Z7 so different was the camera body being notably smaller, slimmer and lighter, thanks to the enormous lens mount and the short flange distance. Despite being small and light-weight, the Z7 is built like a tank. The Z7 felt exactly like a DSLR shrunk to the size of a mirrorless camera, I felt very assured and comfortable holding it in my hand.

The dials and buttons had great tactile feel and I felt right at home with the positions of the buttons. I knew exactly which button to press even when I was looking through the EVF. The buttons were all positioned on the right side of the camera, I could almost operate the camera with only 1 hand!

The LCD display with touchscreen function was something I really enjoyed using because it was very responsive and intuitive. Scrolling through the images, zooming in and out while reviewing became a breeze with the touchscreen function!

Photo Credit: Nikon Singapore

Performance & Image Quality

I was doing a test shoot with the Z7 and my AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Lens adapted using the FTZ adapter. With 493 AF points, 90% coverage and phase detection AF points across most of the frame, I had no problem locking focus every shot. Even when my model was moving around, the continuous focus was able to lock focus most of the time! Impressive, if you ask me!

Image quality without a doubt, is amazing! The images produced from the 45.7-megapixel sensor BSI sensor were jam-packed with details and were biting sharp. Pixel peeping became a pleasure! Haha! Comparing to my D750, there are definitely way more details in the photos taken and the image quality without a doubt is way better.

It was also dull and gloomy during the shoot so I had to shoot at higher ISO but the images produced were very clean, I did not notice any visible noise in the images.

How Do I Feel About Using the Z7?

The Z7 shares many similarities to my D750 in terms of experience, ergonomics and interface but the image quality, the autofocus performance, size and weight are major upgrades which made it felt very different from my D750.

If there’s anything I would nitpick, It would be the single card slot but that’s just my insecurities. I feel more assured using dual card slots and saving all my photos to both cards.

There are no right or wrong when it comes to which camera you’re using, it is all about what you prefer and how you use it to produce the photo you envisioned. The Z7 felt great and performed beautifully. I loved every minute with the Z7 and I wished I had more time shooting with it. For me, the Z7 is an awesome camera and I definitely want it in my bag one day.

Below are some of the photos I have taken during the test shoot using the Z7 with my AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR Lens adapted.